Enterprenour Verghese Kurien

7/21/2019 Enterprenour Verghese Kurien

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you1re doing, in all likelihood it1s safe to assume that will be reflected in the success of your

business%%or subse-uent lack of success. 5n fact, if you don1t enjoy what you1re doing, chances

are you won1t succeed.

2. Take what you do seriously.

0ou cannot expect to be effective and successful in business unless you truly believe in your

business and in the goods and services that you sell. 7ar too many home business owners fail to

take their own businesses seriously enough, getting easily sidetracked and not staying motivated

and keeping their noses to the grindstone. They also fall prey to naysayers who don1t take them

seriously because they don1t work from an office building, office park, storefront, or factory.

3ittle do these skeptics, who rain on the home business owner1s parade, know is that the number

of people working from home, and making very good annual incomes, has grown by leaps and

bounds in recent years.

3. Plan everything.

8lanning every aspect of your home business is not only a must, but also builds habits that every

home business owner should develop, implement, and maintain. The act of business planning is

so important because it re-uires you to analyze each business situation, research and compile

data, and make conclusions based mainly on the facts as revealed through the research. 9usiness

planning also serves a second function, which is having your goals and how you will achieve

them, on paper. 0ou can use the plan that you create both as map to take you from point A to :

and as a yardstick to measure the success of each individual plan or segment within the plan.

4. Manage money wisely.

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The lifeblood of any business enterprise is cash flow. 0ou need it to buy inventory, pay for

services, promote and market your business, repair and replace tools and e-uipment, and pay

yourself so that you can continue to work. Therefore, all home business owners must become

wise money managers to ensure that the cash keeps flowing and the bills get paid. There are two

aspects to wise money management.

". The money you receive from clients in exchange for your goods and services you provide

!income)

+. The money you spend on inventory, supplies, wages and other items re-uired to keep

your business operating. !expenses)

5. Ask or the sale.

A home business entrepreneur must always remember that marketing, advertising, or

promotional activities are completely worthless, regardless of how clever, expensive, or perfectly

targeted they are, unless one simple thing is accomplished%%ask for the sale. This is not to say that

being a great salesperson, advertising copywriting whiz or a public relations specialist isn1t a

tremendous asset to your business. ;owever, all of these skills will be for naught if you do not

actively ask people to buy what you are selling.

!. "emem#er it$s all a#out the %ustomer.

0our home business is not about the products or services that you sell. 0our home business is not

about the prices that you charge for your goods and services. 0our home business is not about

your competition and how to beat them. 0our business is all about your customers, or clients,

period. After all, your customers are the people that will ultimately decide if your business goes

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boom or bust. verything you do in business must be customer focused, including your policies,

warranties, payment options, operating hours, presentations, advertising and promotional

campaigns and website. 5n addition, you must know who your customers are inside out and

upside down.

Related !eepin" #our Customers Satis$ied %% It&s All in the Details

&. 'e%ome a shameless sel()romoter *without #e%oming

o#no+ious,.

<ne of the greatest myths about personal or business success is that eventually your business,

personal abilities, products or services will get discovered and be embraced by the masses that

will beat a path to your door to buy what you are selling. 9ut how can this happen if no one

knows who you are, what you sell and why they should be buying=

Self%promotion is one of the most beneficial, yet most underutilized, marketing tools that the

majority of home business owners have at their immediate disposal.

-. Proje%t a )ositive #usiness image.

0ou have but a passing moment to make a positive and memorable impression on people with

whom you intend to do business. ;ome business owners must go out of their way and make a

conscious effort to always project the most professional business image possible. The majority of

home business owners do not have the advantage of elaborate offices or elegant storefronts and

showrooms to wow prospects and impress customers. 5nstead, they must rely on imagination,

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creativity and attention to the smallest detail when creating and maintaining a professional image

for their home business.

. /et to know your %ustomers.

<ne of the biggest features and often the most significant competitive edge the home based

entrepreneur has over the larger competitors is the he can offer personalized attention. >all it

high%tech backlash if you will, but customers are sick and tired of hearing that their information

is somewhere in the computer and must be retrieved, or told to push a dozen digits to finally get

to the right department only to end up with voice mail%%from which they never receive a return

phone call.

The home business owner can actually answer phone calls, get to know customers, provide

personal attention and win over repeat business by doing so. 5t1s a researched fact that most

business !#( percent) will come from repeat customers rather than new customers. Therefore,

along with trying to draw newcomers, the more you can do to woo your regular customers, the

better off you will be in the long run and personalized attention is very much appreciated and

remembered in the modern high tech world.

Related 'h( #ou Should Ne)er Pre*ud"e a Sales Prospe+t

10. evel the )laying eld with te%hnology.

0ou should avoid getting overly caught up in the high%tech world, but you should also know how

to take advantage of using it. <ne of the most amazing aspects of the internet is that a one or two

person business operating from a basement can have a superior website to a ?'( million

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company, and nobody knows the difference. 2ake sure you1re keeping up with the high%tech

world as it suits your needs.. The best technology is that which helps you, not that which

impresses your neighbors.

11. 'uild a to)(not%h #usiness team.

@o one person can build a successful business alone. 5t1s a task that re-uires a team that is as

committed as you to the business and its success. 0our business team may include family

members, friends, suppliers, business alliances, employees, sub%contractors, industry and

business associations, local government and the community. <f course the most important team

members will be your customers or clients. Any or all may have a say in how your business will

function and a stake in your business future.

Related 'h( Team,or- Should Be #our No. / Sales Tool

12. 'e%ome known as an e+)ert.

6hen you have a problem that needs to be solved, do you seek just anyone1s advice or do you

seek an expert in the field to help solve your particular problem= <bviously, you want the most

accurate information and assistance that you can get. 0ou naturally seek an expert to help solve

your problem. 0ou call a plumber when the hot water tank leaks, a real estate agent when it1s

time to sell your home or a dentist when you have a toothache. Therefore, it only stands to reason

that the more you become known for your expertise in your business, the more people will seek

you out to tap into your expertise, creating more selling and referral opportunities. 5n effect,

becoming known as an expert is another style of prospecting for new business, just in reverse.

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5nstead of finding new and -ualified people to sell to, these people seek you out for your

expertise.

13. reate a %om)etitive advantage.

A home business must have a clearly defined uni-ue selling proposition. This is nothing more

than a fancy way of asking the vital -uestion, 6hy will people choose to do business with you

or purchase your product or service instead of doing business with a competitor and buying his

product or service= 5n other words, what one aspect or combination of aspects is going to

separate your business from your competition= 6ill it be better service, a longer warranty, better

selection, longer business hours, more flexible payment options, lowest price, personalized

service, better customer service, better return and exchange policies or a combination of several

of these=

14. nvest in yoursel.

Top entrepreneurs buy and read business and marketing books, magazines, reports, journals,

newsletters, websites and industry publications, knowing that these resources will improve their

understanding of business and marketing functions and skills. They join business associations

and clubs, and they network with other skilled business people to learn their secrets of success

and help define their own goals and objectives. Top entrepreneurs attend business and marketing

seminars, workshops and training courses, even if they have already mastered the subject matter

of the event. They do this because they know that education is an ongoing process. There are

usually ways to do things better, in less time, with less effort. 5n short, top entrepreneurs never

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stop investing in the most powerful, effective and best business and marketing tool at their

immediate disposal%%themselves.

15. 'e a%%essi#le.

6e1re living in a time when we all expect our fast food lunch at the drive%thru window to be

ready in mere minutes, our dry cleaning to be ready for pick%up on the same day, our money to

be available at the cash machine and our pizza delivered in $( minutes or it1s free. 0ou see the

pattern developing%%you must make it as easy as you can for people to do business with you,

regardless of the home business you operate.

0ou must remain cognizant of the fact that few people will work hard, go out of their way, or be

inconvenienced just for the privilege of giving you their hard%earned money. The shoe is always

on the other foot. 2aking it easy for people to do business with you means that you must be

accessible and knowledgeable about your products and services. 0ou must be able to provide

customers with what they want, when they want it.

1!. 'uild a ro%k(solid re)utation.

A good reputation is un-uestionably one of the home business owner1s most tangible and

marketable assets. 0ou can1t simply buy a good reputation4 it1s something that you earn by

honoring your promises. 5f you promise to have the merchandise in the customer1s hands by

6ednesday, you have no excuse not to have it there. 5f you offer to repair something, you need to

make good on your offer. >onsistency in what you offer is the other key factor. 5f you cannot

come through with the same level of service !and products) for clients on a regular basis, they

have no reason to trust you . . . and without trust, you won1t have a good reputation.

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1&. ell #enets.

8ushing product features is for inexperienced or wannabe entrepreneurs. Selling the benefits

associated with owning and using the products and services you carry is what sales professionals

worldwide focus on to create buying excitement and to sell, sell more, and sell more fre-uently

to their customers. 0our advertising, sales presentations, printed marketing materials, product

packaging, website, newsletters, trade show exhibit and signage are vital. very time and every

medium used to communicate with your target audience must always be selling the benefits

associated with owning your product or using your service.

1-. /et involved.

Always go out of your way to get involved in the community that supports your business. 0ou

can do this in many ways, such as pitching in to help local charities or the food bank, becoming

involved in organizing community events, and getting involved in local politics. 0ou can join

associations and clubs that concentrate on programs and policies designed to improve the local

community. 5t1s a fact that people like to do business with people they know, like and respect, and

with people who do things to help them as members of the community.

1. /ra# attention.

Small%business owners cannot waste time, money and energy on promotional activities aimed at

building awareness solely through long%term, repeated exposure. 5f you do, chances are you will

go broke long before this goal is accomplished. 5nstead, every promotional activity you engage

in, must put money back in your pocket so that you can continue to grab more attention and grow

your business.

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20. Master the art o negotiations.

The ability to negotiate effectively is un-uestionably a skill that every home business owner

must make every effort to master. 5t1s perhaps second in importance only to asking for the sale in

terms of home business musts. 5n business, negotiation skills are used daily. Always remember

that mastering the art of negotiation means that your skills are so finely tuned that you can

always orchestrate a win%win situation. These win%win arrangements mean that everyone

involved feels they have won, which is really the basis for building long%term and profitable

business relationships.

21. Design 6our works)a%e or su%%ess.

>arefully plan and design your home office workspace to ensure maximum personal

performance and productivity and, if necessary, to project professionalism for visiting clients. 5f

at all possible, resist the temptation to turn a corner of the living room or your bedroom into your

office. 5deally, you1ll want a separate room with a door that closes to keep business activities in

and family members out, at least during prime business and revenue generating hours of the day.

A den, spare bedroom, basement or converted garage are all ideal candidates for your new home

office. 5f this is not possible, you1ll have to find a means of converting a room with a partition or

simply find hours to do the bulk of your work when nobody else is home.

22. /et and stay organi7ed.

The key to staying organized is not about which type of file you have or whether you keep a

stack or two of papers on your desk, but it1s about managing your business. 5t1s about having

systems in place to do things. Therefore, you wan to establish a routine by which you can

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accomplish as much as possible in a given workday, whether that1s three hours for a part%time

business or seven or nine hours as a full%timer. 5n fact, you should develop systems and routines

for just about every single business activity. Small things such as creating a to%do list at the end

of each business day, or for the week, will help keep you on top of important tasks to tackle.

>reating a single calendar to work from, not multiple sets for individual tasks or jobs, will also

ensure that jobs are completed on schedule and appointments kept. 5ncorporating family and

personal activities into your work calendar is also critical so that you work and plan from a

single calendar.

23. Take time o8.

The temptation to work around the clock is very real for some home business owners. After all,

you don1t have a manager telling you it1s time to go home because they can1t afford the overtime

pay. very person working from home must take time to establish a regular work schedule that

includes time to stretch your legs and take lunch breaks, plus some days off and scheduled

vacations. >reate the schedule as soon as you have made the commitment to start a home

business. <f course, your schedule will have to be flexible. 0ou should, therefore, not fill every

possible hour in the day. *ive yourself a backup hour or two. All work and no play makes you

burn out very fast and grumpy customer service is not what people want.

24. imit the num#er o hats you wear.

5t1s difficult for most business owners not to take a hands%on approach. They try to do as much as

possible and tackle as many tasks as possible in their business. The ability to multitask, in fact, is

a common trait shared by successful entrepreneurs. ;owever, once in a while you have to stand

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back and look beyond today to determine what1s in the best interest of your business and yourself

over the long run. 2ost highly successful entrepreneurs will tell you that from the time they

started out, they knew what they were good at and what tasks to delegate to others.

25. 9ollow(u) %onstantly.

>onstant contact, follow%up, and follow%through with customers, prospects, and business

alliances should be the mantra of every home business owner, new or established. >onstant and

consistent follow%up enables you to turn prospects into customers, increase the value of each sale

and buying fre-uency from existing customers, and build stronger business relationships with

suppliers and your core business team. 7ollow%up is especially important with your existing

customer base, as the real work begins after the sale. 5t1s easy to sell one product or service, but it

takes work to retain customers and keep them coming back.

ames Stephenson is an experienced home based consultant with more than "' years of business

and marketing experience.

CHAPTER III

SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR - DR. VERGHESE KURIEN

BIOGRPH! OF DR. VERGHESE KURIEN-

D". V#"$%#&# K'"(#) *+& ,") ) N#/,#" 26 1921 +) +'#) S"(+)

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#:'+#: */+) +& *# +) #=#<()+ <(+) <+#". H# *+& )+/#: +#"

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%(& ')# R+ S+%(, P.K V#"$%#&#. D" K'"(#) >()#: L+ C#$# () ?+:"+&

+): ++()#: %(& :#$"## () B.S () P%&(&. H# *+& +& #" +(# () &<"&

+): "#<"#&#)#: %# #$# () "(# ,+:/()) ,=()$ +): #))(&. H#

*#) %# U)(#: S+#& /#"(+ ) $#")/#) &%+"&%(< *%#"# %#

<'"&'#: %(& :#$"## () ?+&#" S(#)# () ?#%+)(+ E)$()##"()$

D(&()();. H# "#'")#: I):(+ +#" /<#() %(& &':(#& +): ) ?+

13 1949 %# %#+:#: " )+): + <+# () K+("+ :(&"( G'>+"+ *%#"# %#

*+& &'<<&#: &<#): @# #+"& +& +) A#" %# D+(" :((&() () "#'")

" %# &%+"&%(< <+(: , %# $#")/#). O) +""(()$ + )+): %# '):

%+ %# +"/#"& *#"# ,#()$ #=<(#: , %# :(&"(,'"& /( +): %#

#)("# "#$() *+& )"#: , + &%"#*: ,' ##" ,'&()#&&/+) +#: +&

P#&)>## E:'>( *% /+"##: P&) ,'#".

3ooking at the struggle of these people to survive and mesmerized by the personality of their

leader Tribhuvandas 8atel who was trying to unite the farmers and form a cooperative movement

against the exploitation, Br. Curien left his government job and joined forces with Tribhuvandas

8atel and the farmers to start the 2ilk >ooperative movement in the region registered under the

name of Caira Bistrict >ooperative 2ilk 8roducers Dnion 3td !CB>28D3), which was later

renamed to now popular Amul. ;e worked towards bringing a 6hite /evolution in 5ndia and

executed the much needed programme of <peration 7lood. Br. Eerghese Curien married Susan

2olly 8eter on une "', "&'$ and they had one daughter @irmala Curien and a grandson,

Siddharth. Br. Curein was the man responsible for turning 5ndia from a milk deficient country to

the largest producer of milk in the world today. Dnder his inspiring leadership many important

institutions were established namely the *>227 !*ujarat >ooperative 2ilk 2arketing

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7ederation 3td) and @BB9 !@ational Bairy Bevelopment board which played a significant role

in shaping the Bairy >ooperative movement across the country and led the replication of Anand

model of cooperative dairy practiced all over the country.

Br. Curien always regarded himself as an employee of the farmers who would do anything to

bring prosperity in their favor.5n his service of over fifty years he attained "' honorary degrees

from different institutions of the world as he believed that learning should never stop. ;is

enduring personality, spirit, undying charisma and conviction of turning the impossible into

possible won him many accolades such as the /amon 2agsaysay Award for >ommunity

3eadership !"&F$), 8adma Shri !"&F'), 8adma 9hushan !"&FF), Crishi /atna Award !"&#F),

6orld 7ood prize !"&#&), 8adma Eibhushan !"&&&), conomic Times award for >orporate

xcellence !+((") and several other awards, but the best award that the people of the country

gave him was the title 2ilkman of 5ndia. After a lifetime of struggle and conviction towards

serving the nation Br. Eerghese Curien breathe his last on & September +("+ due to brief illness

at Anand. Br. Eerghese Curien will always be remembered as the person who redefined the

meaning of milk as a powerful tool for economic development.

CHAPTER I0

OURNE! DR. VERGHESE KURIEN

/123%/143

5t all began at Anand, a place in Caira district, *ujarat famous for its Bairy 5ndustry. 5t was ruled

by some old players who started their dairy in "#&(s and "&"(s. ;owever during the "&+(s a

new entrant called as G8olsonH, which was led by a shrewd but clever 8arsi businessman known

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as G8estonjee duljiH entered the market. ;e started supplying 8olson butter to the 9ritish Army

and its milk products soon became a household name. ;e built a large dairy in Anand in the year

"&$(. <nce he was asked by the 9ombay milk scheme whether it was possible for him to supply

milk from Anand to 9ombay I some $'( kilometers away. @ever before had li-uid milk

travelled such long distances, but 8estonjee was not the man who would let the opportunity go.

;e pasteurized milk and transported it to 9ombay in a rather primitive fashion in milk cans

wrapped up in gunny bags with chilled water poured on the cans. The experiment worked and

very soon 9ombay became an important market for 8olson. 6ith this 8estonjee started

developing good relations with the government officials and he would persuade them to make

arrangement so that he could get benefit out of it. 8estonjee knew that the main source of milk is

the Caira district so he persuaded the government officials to make arrangements that only

8olson dairy could procure milk from the district. ;is wish was granted and 8estonjee started

monopolizing the market4 he started selling products to the people at higher prices and started

exploiting farmers by paying them less for their produce and since 8estonjee monopolized the

market, the milk producers had no option but become the victim of exploitation.

9y "&', the 8olson dairy was flourishing and the farmers were getting more and more

exploited, leading to animosity among the farmers and hence the seeds of the movements were

sown..

/145

5t was Sardar Eallabhbhai 8atelJs vision that led to the growth of the cooperative movement.

After fighting for and winning the freedom he recognized that independence was more than a

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political task. ;e knew that the rural people could never become completely free until they were

liberated from the exploitation of money lenders, burdens of the social ills and the caste and class

discrimination. ;e addressed the problems of building rural institutions and educating rural

people for their development.Sardar 8atel urged the dairy farmers to organize milk cooperatives,

which would give them control over the resources they generated. ;e assigned 2orarji Besai, his

deputy, to coordinate this effort. 2orarji Besai organized a meeting where he asked people to

become the chairman of the cooperative and take the work ahead. A few people volunteered, but

2orarjibhai chose Tribhuvandas 8atel who was a committed freedom fighter and the elected vice

president of the Caira district congress committee. Tribhuvandas was a man of integrity and

honour and he started the cooperative by organizing the dairy farmers and he soon managed to

form a couple of cooperative societies. Although the farmers were ready to take their leaderJs

advice but since milk was such a perishable commodity, farmers had to accept the price that the

contractor offered and also 8olson would use every trick in the book to procure milk at lower

prices by accusing the milk producers that their milk lacks -uality. 7armers got fed up of the

daily exploitation and Tribhuvandas met Sardar 8atel to seeka solution. 8atel gave him a simple

solution that if they wanted to stop exploitation then they need to remove 8olson from the market

by capturing the 9ombay market for which they need to gather the masses and the cooperative

needs to own the dairy. <nly, then they could pressurize the 9ombay 2ilk scheme !92S) to buy

milk from them and not 8olson. ;owever, 8estonjeeJs reach was stronger than the cooperativeJs

and Tribhuvandas and companyJs plea was rejected. 5n protest of the 92S, the cooperative

society went on a "' day strike, famously recalled in history as the Caira strike. The farmers

collected the milk and poured it on the streets but not even a single drop was given to 8olson.

7inally the 92S realized the strength of the union and kneeled to their demands. 7or

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Tribhuvandas 8atel this was morale boosting incident as he travelled mile after mile, village after

village trying to convince the famers to form the cooperative society. 7inally in Becember "&F,

Caira Bistrict >ooperative 2ilk 8roducers Dnion 3imited !CB>28D3) was registered. 9y

procuring the old dairy of 6orld 6ar 5 from the government they began their process.

/141

Arri)al o$ Dr.0er"hese !urien at Anand

5t was 7riday, "$ 2ay, "&& when Br. Eerghese Curien first arrived at Anand to serve his bond in

return of the scholarship he received from the government. Although he had no plans of working

in the village but soon he started noticing the movement of the farmers in the village and

admired the -ualities of their leader, Tribhuvandas 8atel. ;e started giving ideas to the

cooperative, shared his views on how to go ahead and advised them in the selection of machinery

for manufacturing milk. Tribhuvandas 8atel recognized the potential of Br. Eerghese Curien and

just on the day when Br. Eerghese Curien resigned from his job and packed his bags to leave,

Tribhuvandas asked him to help him in setting the new dairy in the village, since no one in the

village was able to run the new machinery. Br. Curien agreed and stayed back to help them.

/162

In+reasin" produ+tion o$ the +ooperati)e

Although, Curien stopped for a few days but looking at the struggle of the farmers he stayed

back. ;e worked for the farmers in creating a better life for them by taking the cooperative

movement ahead. ;e started working day and night for the dairy along with Tribhuvandas and

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hundreds of farmers. <n the advice of Br. Curien, Tribhuvandas left the old machinery of

manufacturing milk and collected money from the cooperative and bought new machinery from

3arsen and Toubro in "&'". Br. Curien joined the cooperative as *eneral 2anager in "&'(. 6ith

the new machinery in place, the procurement capacity of the cooperative rose from +(( litres of

milk in "&# to +(,((( litres in "&'+. Slowly and gradually the name of Caira reached till Belhi

and the Anand model of cooperative started growing.

/166

'orld7s First Bu$$alo Mil- Po,der plant

After returning from @ew :ealand, Br. Curien started his experiment of obtaining milk powder

from buffalo milk. Through a series of experiments under the guidance of Balaya and other

cooperative members, Br. Curien became successful in making milk powder from buffalo milk

and planned to build a plant where they could manufacture the buffalo milk powder.

<n @ovember "', "&', the first president of 5ndia, Br. /ajendra 8rasad laid the foundation for

the worldJs first dairy to manufacture milk powder from buffalo milkat Anand . Br. Curien was

confident that the plant could be erected in a period of one year and when 2aniben asked him

who he wants to inaugurate the plant, he said 8andit awaharlal @ehru. 6hen contacted, 8andit

@ehru gracefully accepted the invitation and informed that he would inaugurate the plant on

<ctober $", "&'', the birth anniversary of Sarder Eallabhbhai 8atel, which gave them exactly ""

months to build the plant. The work started and experts from foreign countries were called to

erect the plant and finally on the day of the inauguration all the preparations were done.

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8andit @ehru inaugurated the plant and gave an inspiring speech which boosted the morale of the

cooperative. This is how the worldJs first buffalo milk powder manufacturing plant came to life.

/168

Birth o$ Amul

6ith the increasing production capacity of the plant and the progressive nature of the

cooperative, it was time to take the competition under consideration and there was a need to

understand the finer points of marketing Caira >ooperativeJs products. At a brainstorming

session to come up with a good name for the products, a chemist at the laboratory suggested the

name GAmulH. 5t comes from a Sanskrit word GAmoolyaH which means priceless. Also it stood as

an acronym for Anand 2ilk Dnion 3imited. Advertising and Sales 8romotion !AS8) did a fine

job by crafting the Amul polka dotted girl and the best baseline a brand has ever had GDtterly

9utterly BeliciousH. the credit for the work goes to ustace 7ernandez, Slyvester Ba cunha and

his team.

The name was registered in the year "&'K and till today it is the most recalled household name.

5t was also a special year for Br. Curien as her daughter @irmala was born in "&'K.

/152

'ar a"ainst China

5n "&F+, the clouds of war against >hina darkened the nation. The 8rime 2inisterJs office called

the Amul cooperative to help the government as the army needed milk powder during the war4

the re-uirement was +K'( tons within six months. Although that was outside the reach of the

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Amul cooperative but in collaboration with the /ajkot dairy they fulfilled the demand of the

government by completely seizing the consumer market. The integrity of the cooperative and its

leaders was such that when asked what they want in return of this favour, they said GnothingH

and proved that in real sense it is serving the nation. 2inoo 8olson !son of 8estonjee dulji) tried

to increase the prices of its butter and take undue advantage of the scenario. 6hen it came to the

notice of Amul cooperative, they froze the manufacturing of 8olson with the help of the

government.

/154

9al Bahadur Shastri )isits Anand

<n the birth anniversary of Sardar Eallabhbhai 8atel, the then 8rime 2inister of 5ndia, 3al

9ahadur Shastri , who had heard a lot about the development process going in Anand, he called

the then >hief 2inister of *ujarat, 9alwantrai 2ehta and made an unusual re-uest. ;e

mentioned that he would like to visit Anand but a day earlier and spend a night at a small

farmerJs house with no police protection where he can move freely and talk with the villagers.

;is main objective was to understand the life of the farmer and the way they perform functions

at the cooperative. 9alwantrai 2ehta immediately conveyed the message to Br. Curien and

raised the security issues related to the 8rime 2inisterJs re-uest. 9ut, like always Br. Curien

found a way out and planned to take Shastriji secretly to a village "( kms away from Anand

called GAjarpuraH where he spent a night at a farmerJs house named /amanbhai. The security

cars were taken straight to Anand.

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Buring his night stay in Ajarpura the 8rime 2inister moved freely in the village and asked

several -uestions to the villagers regarding their life, Amul and how the cooperative brought

prosperity to their life. 6hen the next day he arrived at Anand, he was most attentive to

understand the working of the cooperative and applauded the work of the cooperative by giving

an inspiring speech.

The 8rime 2inister stayed at Br. CurienJs home and in the evening had a detailed conversation

where he mentioned his experience of having spent a night at a village and talking to the farmers.

;e said that he thought something special about Anand but he found nothing special. ;e added

that the soil of Anand is not as good as the 5ndo%*angetic plains, the climate is cold in winter and

very hot in summer, rainfall is more or less similar to other places. ;e remarked that he expected

greenery but it was all dusty and brown and the buffalos give less milk than the one in his home

state of Dttar 8radesh and lastly the farmers here are good people but less hard working than the

ones of 8unjab. ;e was curious that what has then made this cooperative as the >entre of

attraction of the world= Br. Curien agreed to all the observations of the 8rime 2inister but he

mentioned one very important thing that it is the farmerJs cooperative union, they are the owners

of the dairy and he was just an employee of the farmer. 9eing a dairy which is owned by the

farmers gives them the will power and the energy to face every challenge and overcome it.

The 8rime 2inister was convinced by his explanation asked him to replicate the Anand model in

other parts of the country, which made Br. Curien imagine about the social and economic

prosperity they could bring about if the model is replicated. ;e knew that it is going to be a

tedious task but it was not impossible as the man with the stature and class of Br. Curien will

22



always grow strong with the challenge. ;e started thinking and planning how this big dream can

be brought to life and be replicated throughout the country.

/156

Mr !urien :e+omes Dr. !urien and ;uest $or Operation Flood

The year of "&F' was fairly momentous for the cooperative society and also for Br. Curien.

2ichigan State Dniversity conferred an honorary degree of Boctor of Science thereby

promoting him from 2r. Curien to Br. Curien.

5n September "&F', the @ational Bairy Bevelopment 9oard !@BB9) was registered under the

Societies /egistration Act, "#F(. 6ith this the dream of replicating the Amul model throughout

the country and bringing it to reality became stronger.

Br. Curien started thinking on the plan and he worked in coordination with 2icheal ;ales who

was 7ood and Agriculture expert and a ;arvard trained visiting faculty at the 5ndian 5nstitute of

2anagement !552) and ;.2 Balaya. 2ichael ;ales noted down all the points to be taken into

consideration to replicate the plan and helped the cooperative to draft their plan to be presented

to the government seeking their support for the programme. The amount that was re-uired for

replicating the Anand 2odel all over the country was over F'( crore rupees as estimated by the

cooperative team. 6hen the plan was presented to the state government and the other authorities,

it was rejected as the government had the control over the dairy industry in 5ndia and they never

wished to give that power to the villagers. 5t also led to a lot of corruption and soon the

cooperative realized that they need to do something different. 5t was very easy to drop the plan

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but the conviction of the leader and the cooperative was not going to shy away from the

challenge.

/15<

Sei=in" the opportunit(

There was a surplus production of milk in the uropean countries. So much so, that they had no

clue what to do with the surplus milk. At that time, the ;ome Secretary, 3.8 Singh recommended

Br. Curien to present their proposal to these uropean countries at the event, which happened in

/ome called as the 6orld 7ood 8rogramme !678). Br. Curien realized that this opportunity will

never come again as these nations will never commit this mistake again of over producing. Br.

Curien visited /ome in <ctober "&F# to present @BB91s project proposal to a twenty four nation

executive committee of the 678. The Agriculture Secretary of the *overnment of 5ndia at that

time was 9./ 8atel who introduced Br. Curien to the 678 committee to present 5ndia1s point of

view. Br. Curien was waiting for this opportunity and was all set to go. ;e started by elaborating

on the importance of milk in 5ndia. 6ith a huge population there is a big space for dairy

development in 5ndia and his intention was to replicate the Anand model in various parts of the

country. ;e simply explained how he intended to use the donated milk to sell at a regular price in

5ndia in order to capture the markets of Belhi, 9angalore and other metros and milk rich cities

and then generate the money out of it to fund the <peration 7lood programme where his major

goal was to make 5ndia a self%sufficient country in milk and milk products. ;e also added that if

a country donates milk worth ?"(( million then it can expect "(L return on investment hence

the donation is in fact an investment. ;e continued that he is not asking for such donations to sell

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them at a lower rate and make money out of it as many countries do it but to use it to raise

money for <peration 7lood to make 5ndia self%sufficient.

The elaborate and passionate presentation was liked and more importantly very well received by

the committee. ;ence in 2arch "&K(, the proposal to award 5ndia the food aid donation was

signed between the *overnment of 5ndia and the 678.

The cooperative won the major battle here which kick started the <peration 7lood.

/183%/1<3

Phase / o$ Operational Flood>Billion 9iter Idea

5n a nutshell the approach was very simple. The first step was that the donated milk products

would be reconstituted to provide the 9ombay, Belhi, >alcutta and 2adras li-uid schemes with

enough milk to obtain a commanding share of the markets. @ext, the funds realized from this

reconstitution and sale of donated products were used to resettle city%kept cattle and help them to

breed and to increase organized milk production, its procurement and processing. 7inally this

entire operation would be directed towards stabilizing the position of major li-uid milk schemes

in their markets.

/1</%/1<6

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Phase 2 o$ Operational Flood>Billion 9iter Idea

The second phase of the operation flood, which lasted from "&#" to "&#', was implemented with

the seed capital raised from the sale of uropean conomic >ommittee1s !>) gifts as well as a

6orld 9ank loan of /s +(( crore. 6ith this phase, the number of milk sheds increased the outlets

for milk produced. 9y the end of this phase more than $,((( village cooperatives covering .+'

million milk producers were established.

/1<6%/115

Phase ? o$ Operational Flood>Billion 9iter Idea

The third phase of the operation added $(,((( new dairy cooperatives to the +,((( existing

societies. 2ember education was intensified, and significantly, the number of women members

and women1s Bairy cooperative societies increased considerably. This phase focused on assisting

unions to expand and strengthen their procurement and marketing infrastructure to manage the

increasing volumes of milk !by "&#& the number of milk sheds had grown to "K$). Eeterinary

healthcare services, feed and artificial insemination services for cooperative members were

extended. Buring this decade the increased emphasis was on research and development on

animal health and animal nutrition.

26



CHAPTER 0

Operational Flood

<peration 7loodM one of the world1s largest rural development programmes 3aunched in "&K(,

<peration 7lood has helped dairy farmers direct their own development, placing control of the

resources they create in their own hands. A @ational 2ilk *rid links milk producers throughout

5ndia with consumers in over K(( towns and cities, reducing seasonal and regional price

variations while ensuring that the producer gets fair market prices in a transparent manner on a

regular basis. The bedrock of <peration 7lood has been village milk producers1 cooperatives,

which procure milk and provide inputs and services, making modern management and

technology available to members. <peration 7lood1s objectives included M

• 5ncrease milk production !a flood of milk)

• Augment rural incomes

• /easonable prices for consumers

8rogramme 5mplementation

<peration 7lood was implemented in three phases.

Phase I

8hase 5 !"&K(%"&#() was financed by the sale of skimmed milk powder and butter oil gifted by

the uropean Dnion then > through the 6orld 7ood 8rogramme. @BB9 planned the

programme and negotiated the details of > assistance.

27



Buring its first phase, <peration 7lood linked "# of 5ndia1s premier milksheds with consumers in

5ndia1s four major metropolitan citiesM Belhi, 2umbai, Colkata and >hennai.

Phase II

<peration 7lood1s 8hase 55 !"&#"%#') increased the milksheds from "# to "$F4 +&( urban

markets expanded the outlets for milk. 9y the end of "&#', a self%sustaining system of $,(((

village cooperatives covering .+' million milk producers had become a reality. Bomestic milk

powder production increased from ++,((( tons in the pre%project year to "(,((( tons by "&#&,

all of the increase coming from dairies set up under <peration 7lood. 5n this way > gifts and

6orld 9ank loan helped to promote self%reliance. Birect marketing of milk by producers1

cooperatives increased by several million litres a day.

Phase III

8hase 555 !"&#'%"&&F) enabled dairy cooperatives to expand and strengthen the infrastructure

re-uired to procure and market increasing volumes of milk. Eeterinary first%aid health care

services, feed and artificial insemination services for cooperative members were extended, along

with intensified member education.

<peration 7lood1s 8hase 555 consolidated 5ndia1s dairy cooperative movement, adding $(,(((

new dairy cooperatives to the +,((( existing societies organised during 8hase 55. 2ilksheds

peaked to "K$ in "&##%#& with the numbers of women members and 6omen1s Bairy >ooperative

Societies increasing significantly.

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8hase 555 gave increased emphasis to research and development in animal health and animal

nutrition. 5nnovations like vaccine for Theileriosis , bypass protein feed and urea%molasses

mineral blocks, all contributed to the enhanced productivity of milch animals.

7rom the outset, <peration 7lood was conceived and implemented as much more than a dairy

programme. /ather, dairying was seen as an instrument of development, generating employment

and regular incomes for millions of rural people. @Operation Flood +an :e )ie,ed as a

t,ent( (ear eperiment +on$irmin" the Rural De)elopment 0ision@ 'orld Ban- Report

/118+.

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CHAPTER 0I

SPEECHES B# DR. 0ERHESE !URIEN

• 2arch +, "&& M NNE Bairy 5ndustry >onference

• August $(, "&&" M Eallabhai 8atel 2emorial 3ecture

• "&&" % >ooperative Bevelopment group M >ooperative 3eadership O >ooperative Ealues

• Becember "', "&&( M Sardar 8atel Dniversity

• Becember "+, "&&( M 9al Battatraya Award 3ecture

• Becember "$, "&#& M Shri /am 2emorial 3ecture >ooperatives and >apital

• Becember "$, "&#& M Shri /am 2emorial 3ecture

• <ctober "K, "&#& M 8resentation of the 6orld 7ood 8rize at 6ashington

• 2arch &, "&## M Shastri 5ndo%>anadian 5nstitute Bimensions of Beve

• anuary "F, "&## M South *ujarat Dniversity

• 7ebruary "(, "&#K M 8rof.. >. Cane 2emorial 3ecture

• September $, "&#F M Third awaharlal @ehru 2emorial 577>< 3ecture

• 2ay "$, "&#F M 2aharaja Sayajirao Dniversity of 9aroda

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• Becember "(,"&#$ M Socio%economic 5mpact of <peration 7lood

• anuary +&th, "&#+ M "st Sardar 8atel 2emorial 3ecture

• @ovember +, "&#+ M 2ohan Cumaramangalam 2emorial 3ecture

• August +#th, "&#+ M 9reed improvement and milk production

• <ctober "K, "&#" M All 5ndia 6omenJs >onference

• 2arch K, "&K# M Br. Eikram Sarabhai 2emorial 3ecture

• Becember +(, "&K' M @ational 5nvestment and 7inance anniversary

• Becember "F, "&K+ M /ajmitra A. B. Amin 2emorial 3ecture

• BA5/0 BE3<82@T T;<D*; ><%<8/AT5ES 5@ 5@B5A M Shri /amchandra

Sarvotam Bubhashi 2emorial 3ecture

• 8D935> S/E5> 90 8/5EAT 8/S<@S M 8rogramme of Training for Bemocracy

Eallabhbhai 8atel 2emorial 3ecture on >ooperative 2arketing M 8atel1s Eision of the 5ndian

>ooperative 2ovement.

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CHAPTER 0II

THOUHTS OF DR. 0ERHESE !URIEN%

• Dr. 0er"hese !urien ,ill al,a(s :e remem:ered as a man ,ith stron" ,ill and sel$%

:elie$.

• ;ere are few of his thoughts.

• 5ndia1s place in the sun would come from the partnership between wisdom of its rural

people and skill of its professionals

• The milk of 5ndia is produced by millions of small and marginal farmers and landless

labourers1. 5t is on their behalf and in their name that i accept this high honour.

• 5ndia needs to show an honest face, a kind face, a human face % and not an arrogant face

as the powerful nations of today !do). 6hat you need is good management with farmer

power. *ood management gives this power the right direction and thrust. @othing can

stop the farmers then. 3east of all the 2@>s.

• 2ilk is the only commodity which has to be collected twice a day, every day of the year.

Thus, cooperatives are the only logical system for the dairy industry. About #'L of the

industry in the DS, Benmark and Australia is run by cooperatives. @o other system will

work for milk. 6ho told you there is one Amul= There are more than "K' Amuls across

various districts !in *ujarat).

• True development is not the development of land, or of cows4 it is the development of

men and women.

• 5nnovation cannot be mandated or forced on people4 it is everywhere, a function of the

-uality of the people and the environment. 6e need to have enough skilled people

working in a self% actuating environment to produce innovation

• 5 am like a cat, throw me wherever you want to, 5 will still stand on my feet ight hours

for dairy, eight hours for family and eight hours for sleep

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• 2y philosophy in life is to do as much good as 5 can to those who are less fortunate, but 5

would like to live my life as a common man

• The time has come for massive rural development in our country. The task is daunting

and the opposing is great, but 5 believe that it is also the greatest opportunity that has ever

been presented to a society such as ours.

• 5 trust, in a humble way % dairying is such as instrument of changeM an instrument not only

of technical change, but also of economic and social change. 5t is to such instruments that

we must look to build the 5ndia tomorrow.

• All the tools are with us, in our ;ands, to effect the transformation of our predominantly

rural society. @ever has an elite had such an opportunity.

• 5n every successful grassroots cooperative, members trust their leaders. Trust is the most

cost%effective way to manage cooperatives.

• 5f we can again create the environment, the opportunity, and the education, our villages

will provide a new generation of leaders who will not only rebuild our cooperative

movement, but who will help us to build a truly great nation.

• This process of modernization cannot merely demonstrate to producers the application of

such techni-ues as artificial insemination, improved animal feeding etc. <n the contrary,

it inevitably shows the producers that they can use modern science and technology to

achieve the larger objectives of their own lives.

• To be -uite honest, service to our nation1s farmers was not the career 5 had envisioned for

myself. 9ut somehow, a series of events swept me along and put me in a certain place at a

certain time when 5 had to choose between one option and another.

• Sardar Eallabhai 8atel1s vision has always been a source of great inspiration. ;e knew

that our rural people could never become really free until they were liberated from the

exploitation of moneylenders. Sardar 8atel believed that the way to address these

problems was to build rural institutions that would serve the farmers1 economic interests.

;e urged dairy farmers to organize milk cooperatives, which would give them control

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over the resources they generated and assigned 2orarji Besai, his Beputy, to coordinate

this effort.

• 5 was fortunate that 5 enjoyed the support of all the governments that came to power. 5

have been and continue to be, highly critical of our bureaucracy. 7ortunately for us,

within our bureaucracy, there are a number of people who are dedicated, patriotic and

able.

• 5 am in the business of empowerment. 2ilk is just a tool in that.

• 5 am supposed to exploit the consumer4 and 5 will !exploit them), but not in a way that

will create resentment. 5 have to milk the consumer. And milk them 5 will, but gently.

CHAPTER 0III

Se+rets o$ Su++ess$ul Entrepreneurs

5n his book Theory of conomic Bevelopment, oseph Schumpeter articulated that an

enterprise carries out new combinations of ideas and an entrepreneur is the one implementing

them. 6hen starting a new venture, one is looking for new ideas, re%orienting old ones,

working alone or with partners to carry out the radical thoughts. Eentures are difficult with

respect to the degree of difficulty, the time and effort involved, thorough analysis to be

conducted, the detailed planning, and lastly for the correct bearing of risk involved.

The two important ingredients in a successful venture are the people involved, and the focal

idea. A poor idea can1t be implemented by the best people, and the best idea would not stand

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a chance on its own. The organization must start with a clearly defined set of goals

highlighting what it would like to achieve in its future.

To have a successful entrepreurial idea, it must create dise-uilibrium in the marketplace. To

protect from failure and create a strategic competitive advantage, one must ensure that the

idea is radical in nature. <nce it enters the marketplace, you would like it to capture an

leadership position in as many of 8orter1s 7ive 7orces variables as possible. The only way

to ensure great success in the venture is to strive to create a monopoly, with high barriers to

entry.

To be successful in the long run, the venture re-uires scientific methods of forecasting. The

belief that the future is created, not predicted must run strongly in the enterprise. 5nformation

key to entrepreneurial success must be stores, reviewed, and easily accessible to all parts of

the organization. <ne must be careful though to ensure that the -uality of such information is

top notch. <ne must verify all data and disregard all the noise

5nnovative solutions art with an area of interest common to the participants. The starting

point should be a search for 1vacant fields14 that is areas where there is no competition. 5n

such a situation the entrepreneur has the flexibility of creating barriers to entry. 1Eacant fields1

are found through research and uncovering knowledge often overlooked by society. 9efore

jumping into this metaphorical field, one must analyze the situation within the industry.

There are three possible explanations to a lack of competition. There could be a known

solution but no action4 the solution might not be known4 or the area has never been explored.

7or the first case, one must research why no action has been taken. ;as it been overlooked=

;ave others tried and failed= 5n the second case, we must identify the ignorance of the

mistake. The thrid scenerio shows a lack of effort on the part of the competition. /esults

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from this 1ignorance profile1 should be evaluated to identify the problem, possible solutions,

or to pursue further research.

There are other areas that must also be examined when creating successful ventures. Ceynes

in*eneral Theory of mployment, 5nterest O 2oney, believed that successful enterprises

need the reasonable calculations mentioned above along with a set of 1animal spirits1. The

entrepreneur is a very interesting being and as per Solomon O 6inslow in Towards a

Bescriptive 8rofile of an ntrepreneur, has been described historically as a risk taker, risk

avoider, dispaced, passionate, social deviate, etc. 9ut they emphasise the confidence, logical

thinking, optimism and self%reliance of entrepreneurs as a key to their success. 5n a successful

entrepreneurial venture, it is imperitive that everyone involved believes in these values and

respects them. The venture must be lead by someone as described by van in ;ollow the

3eader4 they must have good communication and interaction skill and would not enforce

conformity.

5n conclusion, a successful entrepreneurial venture must have certain key properties. 5t must

be a mixture of logic in servicing the laws of economics, the ability and desire to lead,

common sense, creativity, and the mental fortitude to make key decisions.

9uilding a successful business is not some great mystery. 5tJs not about coming up with a

revolutionary new product I building a better mousetrap if you will. 5tJs not about being

smarter or better or luckier. 5tJs not about learning some secret marketing strategy that only

the top people know about.

9eing a successful entrepreneur is fairly simple. 5tJs about understanding some business

basics, having the right attitude and consistently doing the work necessary to succeed.



Enterprenour Verghese Kurien

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